The 14th of June, 22 will indeed go down in Indian cricket’s history as a watershed moment when the Indian Premier League-IPL made its debut on the world stage in style. The BCCI, which happens to be the foremost authority on cricket in India, sold the IPL’s media rights for the 2023-27 period for a whopping Rs. 48,390 crores, a record not only in international cricket but also in the worldwide sports arena. With this, the value of media rights increased by around 200% over the last 5-year cycle, albeit falling short of the golden figure of Rs. 50000 crores.
Shortly after the e-auction ended, the BCCI secretary announced that the IPL has been synonymous with growth right from its inception and it was a definite red-letter day in Indian cricket with the brand IPL reaching a new high and becoming the world’s second most valuable sporting league when it comes to pre-match value. Although by a small margin, the digital rights’ worth has overtaken the value of the television rights. Disney Star India, which is the incumbent rights holder, has retained the TV rights for the Indian subcontinent for Rs. 23, 575 crores. This was despite losing the same region to Viacom18 which has paid for Rs. 23, 758 crores to control exclusive and non-exclusive digital rights for it.
Apparently, Viacom18 will also have the media rights for Australia, South Africa, and the UK, besides the digital rights. On the other hand, Times Internet, owned by Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL), has grabbed the Middle East, North Africa, and US licences. Notably, many major sporting leagues have been eclipsed by the IPL not only in terms of the overall value but also when it comes to the pre-match value, which will be paid by the rights owners to the BCCI for the next five years. The media rights of IPL are at an average of Rs. 118.02 crores per match. For television rights, Disney Star is going to be paying a hefty sum of Rs. 57.50 crores. Viacom18, which has bagged both Cat-B & C rights, will end up paying a sum of Rs. 83.24 crores.
Mihir Shah, who is the VP of Media Partners Asia, is of the opinion that the fact that digital has gone on to surpass television shows itself demonstrates the power of streaming in India. As per insiders, Sony Pictures Networks India, Disney Star India and Viacom18 were involved in a 3-way contest for the television rights. When it came to the digital rights, it was a four-way war with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited also competing aggressively. Because digital rights have significant importance, Disney Star, which had already bagged Package A, chose to push Viacom18, which was the winner of Package B, for another round of bidding. The e-auction rules of IPL allowed the Package A winner to surpass the Package B winner’s bid price. Despite a re-bid, Viacom18 was able to keep the rights for a whopping Rs. 50 a match as compared to a base price of Rs. 33 crores per match. Disney+Hotstar’s desperation to gain the digital rights too was understandable as their 50 million+ paid members are a result of the success of IPL.
